Real Life Characters
I didn’t post once last week and I don’t feel bad about it. Instead, I spent the time listening to my favorite storyteller: my incredible Grandma.
Gram and I have always had a special relationship. Like most grandmas, she was the lady I went to for fresh baked cookies and when my mom told me ‘no.’ But when I was fifteen, I started working for her company and the dynamic between us changed. She was still – and will always be the best grandmother in the world – but I realized she was also an intelligent woman who people listened to and respected. Professionals, community members, and politicians valued her opinion and appreciated her work ethic.
I always wanted to be like her, to be a reflection of her innate goodness and true charity, but she’s a tough act to follow!
Gram is one of the few people that I love to listen to. I wish I’d started tape recording our conversations or jotting down the details years ago. It’s not all that often you get to hear first-hand accounts from someone who sent a brother to fight in the Pacific, sing the big band ballads, and dish out all the dirt on your mom.
She doesn’t mince words. She’s never hidden (what she considered) her fault in her stories; she doesn’t make herself seem perfect. And that’s just another reason I love her. She’s wise and honest and humble.
The more I write about my grandma, the more I realize what an incredibly deep and sparkling character she’d make in a novel.
But I could never, ever do her justice.
Gram and I have always had a special relationship. Like most grandmas, she was the lady I went to for fresh baked cookies and when my mom told me ‘no.’ But when I was fifteen, I started working for her company and the dynamic between us changed. She was still – and will always be the best grandmother in the world – but I realized she was also an intelligent woman who people listened to and respected. Professionals, community members, and politicians valued her opinion and appreciated her work ethic.
I always wanted to be like her, to be a reflection of her innate goodness and true charity, but she’s a tough act to follow!
Gram is one of the few people that I love to listen to. I wish I’d started tape recording our conversations or jotting down the details years ago. It’s not all that often you get to hear first-hand accounts from someone who sent a brother to fight in the Pacific, sing the big band ballads, and dish out all the dirt on your mom.
She doesn’t mince words. She’s never hidden (what she considered) her fault in her stories; she doesn’t make herself seem perfect. And that’s just another reason I love her. She’s wise and honest and humble.
The more I write about my grandma, the more I realize what an incredibly deep and sparkling character she’d make in a novel.
But I could never, ever do her justice.
30 Comments
Jess
I love my grandma, too 🙂
Becky Wallace
@Jess: My inbox is empty…I’m waiting.
Emily R. King
Aw, I like when real people inspire characters. It gives them authentic dimension.
I’m all for the grandma love!
Becky Wallace
@Emily: You may not be able to write on bed rest, but you can post! I love your blog!
Crystal Collier
Yup, sounds like a person to base a character on–then you don’t have to worry about disrespecting the actual person. Humble people rule!
Becky Wallace
@Crystal: Humble people are awesome, but in short supply. :-\
Carrie Butler
She sounds like a wonderful woman. 🙂
Becky Wallace
@Carrie: She really is! I’m lucky!
Lexa Cain
Aww…I’m in love with your grandma. She sounds wonderful. I have one aunt who’s smart, kind, and humble like that, and believe it or not, my MIL is an angel. Nicest, most generous person, never thinks of herself, and shares everything — and she has very little to share. Her life’s been hard (taken out of school at 13, married at 15, lots of miscarriages & kids — 2-mentally disabled — and a life of poverty, but she’d never let you know. She’s 75 and still carries 50-lb bags of rice on her head from the market and never complains. Yup, an angel.
Becky Wallace
@Lexa: Wow! What a remarkable woman! It’s so easy to be ungrateful, but every now and then you come across someone truly incredible who doesn’t realize what they lack. Thanks for sharing!
William Kendall
She sounds like a grand lady!
For me it would be my maternal grandfather that would be the character I could never do justice to in a book. He was the best man I’ve ever known.
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